THE CAMERA MAN

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue LXVIII, 22 September 1914, Page 2

THE CAMERA MAN

SELA.CKLETON AND THE ANTARCTIC.

Mr Frank Hurley, official photographer to the Shackieton Antarctic expedition, is in Wellington for a few days prior to sailing for Buenos Aires by the Remuera to join Sir Ernest Shackieton on his way to the Farthest South (says the Post). The young Australian, who hails from Sydney, has already had abundant experience in Antarctica. He spent two years in Adelie Land with Sir Douglas Mawson, and there _tpok a of fine photographs and cinema pictures, some of which are appearing in the magazines at Home just now, • accompanying Sir Douglas Mawson's narrative. The cinema pictures will be shown here in due course. After his return from the other extreme of climate in an expedition through the burning deserts of Central and Northern Australia. Here again he secured some splendid pictures of the life of the Australian native tribes far from civilisation, and ak<» of scenes in this region of unknown Australia. He also obtained some excellent film studies of the natural history of the country and the life outback.

The story of Mr Hurley's career during the past four years demonstrates the part the camera man plays in mod-.-era exploration and the wonderful; variety of life he sees. In the latter part of 1910 he went down with Dr. Mawson to the Antarctic, and theiV. spent some eighteen months, returning early in 1912. He was only a few weeks in Sydney before he was despatched to the tropical East to take some cinema and camera pictures through the verdant islands of the Dutch East Indies— Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and New Guinea amonu; the chief. On his return from this trip towards the end of 1912 he went back to pick up Dr. Mawson, and remained with him until the expedition finally came home to Adelaide early this year. Since then Mr Hurley spent several months in the blazing heat of the Australian interior, travelling six or seven thousand miles by motorcar and taking pictures all the way. And now with only a few weeks' rest he is off once more to join Shackleton. He is to be one of the party of six which will attempt the crossing of the Antarctic continent from the Weddeli Sea, via the Pole, to Ross Sea on the other side... With him he will take a special cinema camera, the lightest ever made, and specially designed for easy transport. The ordinary cinema camera weighs between 50 and 60 pounds—a weight which Mr Hurley, who speaks from bitter experience, declares is impossible. His special camera tor the xrans-Antarctican expedition will weigh only eight pounds—a perfect featherweight by comparison.' The general! photograph equipment, • which has been supplied by Kodak Australasia, Ltd., Sydney, is described by Mr Hurley as the finest that has ever accompanied any expedition. It includes five Graflex cameras, selected for their reliability, and a number of Kodaks for the different sledging parties. Shackleton's plan, according to Mr Hurley, is to leave Buenos Aires on the 15th of October, and sail for the Wed3ell Sea,' to about the same region where I^HlGerman expedition, under Lieutenant E!jlchner, made an attempt to land % year or two ago, but was frozen up'in the pack ice. The Shackleton expedition ?will here endeavor to

make a landing and establish a base. Scouting aeroplanes, of which the expedition has tw.o. will endeavor to find a suitable pass over the' Antarctic Andes inland behind the Weddell Sea. Depots will then be laid out with the help oi' aero-tractors, like aeroplanes without wi.'igs, using the experience gained by the Mawscn party, which took an aeroplane minus the wings down to Adeli'e Land and found it very useful. These aero-tractors c/re capable of pulling heavy loads up considerable grades. This depot-laying work' will occupy the remainder of the southern summer of 1914-1.5. When spring comes again in 1915, the party of six will set out on the great 'adventure to cross the Antarctic Continent via the South Pole. Should they succeed in reaching the : Pole thel journey will be continued along the Scott-Shackleton return route from the Pole to Ross Sea, where the rest of thfv expedition will be awaiting them. Such is the programme of the expedition.